MI Emirates lose their crown
The men in yellow left the blues red in face as they first restricted them to a modest 146 and then cruised past the target in 18.5 overs
Abu Dhabi (UAE): Defending champions MI Emirates are out. The Sharjah Warriorz called everything right, from the toss, to thump them by six wickets in the DP World International T20 League Eliminator at the Zayed Cricket Stadium here on Thursday night.
The men in yellow left the blues red in face as they first restricted them to a modest 146 and then cruised past the target in 18.5 overs.
The Sharjah side were off the blocks in a flash. Openers Tom Kohler-Cadmore (40) and Johnson Charles (36) raced to 49 in 4.5 overs to put their team firmly on track and gradually push their rivals off it as Tim Seifert added another 40.
The Warriorz will now take on Desert Vipers in Qualifier-2 to be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday. The winner of that game will clash with the Dubai Capitals for the trophy in Sunday’s final.
The Emirates began badly, losing opener Andre Fletcher on the third ball of the game, caught by Sharjah captain Tim Southee off Adam Milne without troubling the scorers.
A pepped up Warriors began to jump about and the spring in their steps was evident. Will Jacks and Tom Banton then scored at a quick pace to put on 34 in 30 balls before the former fell, cleaned up by spinner Ashton Agar. Will’s 17-ball 18 contained three boundaries.
In walked Nicholas Pooran and started thumping the ball around. It flew off his punishing blade for a maximum and six brilliant boundaries. The MI captain was also involved in a 39-run stand for the third wicket with No. 3 Tom Banton, who struck four boundaries in his 29 before being caught and bowled by Rohan Mustafa.
At the halfway stage, MIE were 75 for 3.
However, Pooran soon departed, edging one to wicketkeeper Tim Seifert off Dilshan Madushanka as he tried to force the pace. His rapidfire 42 came off 22 balls.
Thereafter, the Emirates struggled to put up a decent partnership and lost wickets at regular intervals to end four short of 150.
Brief Scores: MI Emirates 146 for 8 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 42, Tom Banton 29, Tim Southee 2/24) lost to Sharjah Warriorz 149 for 4 in 18.5 overs (Tom Kohler-Cadmore 40, Johnson Charles 36, Tim Seifert 40, Jason Roy 26, Muhammad Rohid 3/32).